Currently…
- Current Favorite Coffee Bean: fresh whole coffee beans from Peet’s called Espresso Forte.
- Current Favorite Creamer: Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Creamer.
- with some 2% milk and ice…
- Current Favorite Reusable Cup: YETI 20oz Tumbler with the separate lid and straw.
But of course, the decision for the purchase includes years of coffee drinking and other experiences and attempts in making our own coffee. Not just a simple… we should get a coffee machine out of no where.
The French Press
Around Jan of 2019, we bought our first Bodum french press. I picked one up from our local Peet’s store. Bought some coffee grounds there and tried to make coffee ourselves for a bit. The process… was a bit time consuming for me. Because I would have to boil the water, wait for it to boil, pour the water in, let it seep for about 2 minutes, then push it down… then finally pour it out into my cup. It was long. Plus, I had to clean it each time. I think this was more bothersome for me… because other people would ask for fresh coffee and I’d have to make it and clean it.
The Starbucks Verismo
Another time, years ago, around 2014~, I purchased the Starbucks Verismo machine. This is similar to the kcup concept but I didn’t want to try that one in particular and got the Starbucks’ version. It was on sale during Thanksgiving/Christmas time. (Hahah… I just noticed that this is usually when I buy a “coffee machine.” Maybe because it’s cold out… and we’re all in the spending spirit.) Anyway, I mostly used it for the espresso pods that were practically $1.50 for each or so when you divide the total price by the number of pods that were included. There were regular coffee flavored ones and milk pods too. I did use this for some time… but it wasn’t that great, yet. I was not one to add spoonful of sugar or creamer to my cup. (Creamer… the Starbucks ones were not discovered until my time at my 4th job.) Plus, had to repurchase the pods too often! The various pods… didn’t seem to save me as much either. Maybe half the price of a cup of coffee? 2 espresso pods and a coffee or milk pod. These were okay when I did not have a coffee maker and for those days when I literally did not want to leave the house, at all. And there were many of those during this time. Following this machine, I decided not to invest in another quick coffee machine maker. :]
Additional Reasoning
This went on for years, until… the no coffee, lower dosage, pregnancy break, and we decided that the Breville coffee machine was worth investing in, and so we did. :]
Also. The calculation showed that using this machine for, at least, half a year (over-estimating here)… would already earn our investment back and more in daily coffee. So there was that. We are a little over a year and still going strong! Worth it.